


And The Heavens Burned

by TwinEnigma



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, GFY, Gen, Implied Character Death, xenophobic statements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-24 03:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4903567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinEnigma/pseuds/TwinEnigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepho Daman and two of his fellow Mannheim system guardians are invited to attend a summit in Crystal Tokyo, the capital of the New Earth Empire, as representatives of their system.  It goes less than well.</p><p>First Place Round 3 Entry for the 2013 Miss Senshi Pageant on deviantART, aka "Alignment Switch".</p>
            </blockquote>





	And The Heavens Burned

  
_There is an old saying: there are those born who have the body of a god, but the heart of a man, and they possess untold strengths._

 

_However, the human heart is fragile and easily broken._

_If it is lost..._

"The line between god and demon is thin." - _Old Terran Proverb_

 

* * *

  
The summit is a modest, relatively informal affair, held within Crystal Tokyo, the capital of the New Earth Empire.  Only a relative handful of diplomatic envoys are in attendance, most of them from relatively close star systems, such as Alpha Centauri and Gliese. Others, such as Shepho Daman, one of the three chosen to represent the Mannheim Unified Nations, had traveled from much further.

His friends and superiors in rank, the Princess of Valhalla, Tenshi1, and her elder cousin, the Prince of Hel, Loke, are the others that had been chosen for these negotiations.  Truthfully, when Shepho had first met Tenshi, she had seemed such a silly thing, a child in spite of her background, but she has grown much since those days and no doubt will become greater still. Beneath her beauty lies the sharp mind of a politician and the steel heart of a true warrior.  Her cousin, Loke, on the other hand, is largely as expected of a descendant of the God of Death.  He plays the part of fool and mischief-maker, but underneath, he is a warrior through and through. Among them, there is no one more skilled than the Prince of Hel in dealing a speedy death. Shepho, for his part, is endowed with the great abilities and resilience that only one born of a god’s blood may possess. Together, they are more than enough to represent the strength of their home system.

For the most part, conversation between the delegates is light and the three Mannheim system representatives are, mercifully, left in relative peace. Or, to be far more accurate, they are politely ignored. It is hardly unexpected, given the reputation of barbarism Mannheim has within the Core Systems and that, as he is most painfully aware, Shepho’s very presence in particular is unsettling to the more conservatively-minded Core Worlders. They look upon him and they shrink back in thinly disguised horror at his clawed hands, golden eyes, and the white wolf ears that crown his fair head, the very same features that the people of his homeworld, Noatun, find so handsome.

Many of the Core Worlders have _never_ seen anyone remotely like him. And how could they have? They had long ago cast out their gods and spirits, forcing them and their half-mortal children to flee. Here, he exists as an unwelcome reminder of a bygone era and, as insulting as it is to be ignored, he cannot help but feel relief that their attention is not on him.

That, alas, is too good to last forever. Soon enough, the conversation turns to that of dealing with the seemingly never-ending tide of harmful creatures they face in battle and Shepho cannot help but reflexively flinch when the queen of Earth, Lady Serenity, states that she finds that Mannheim has the most interesting way of handling the issue.

“They have a contract with them – the Yggdrasil Pact, I believe it’s called – and under it, all the _bakemono_ are bound to protect the people of Mannheim. And as such, they have had peace for many, many years. It’s a rather novel solution to the situation. After all, what has millennia of fighting achieved?” she asks.

Tenshi frowns a little and pipes up for the first time since the luncheon began: “You oversimplify, your highness. The _bakemono_ you speak of are but one group among the Vættir.”2

All eyes in the room shift to the three representatives.

Lady Serenity smiles warmly and it occurs to Shepho that the pink-haired queen has at last found a means of getting them involved. “Perhaps the Princess of Valhalla and her companions would care to elaborate on the Pact?”

"Our legends say long, long ago, during the War Against the Giants, Frigga, the Queen of Midgard and my sacred ancestor, called the Great Thing – a meeting between all the Vættir of the Nine Worlds,” Tenshi explains, relaxing a little as she recounts the familiar legend. “And there, she set forth the Contract that unifies the world of Mann with the Nine Worlds. She was a great and wise goddess - the wife of Odin - and when she spoke, all bowed their heads to her. So long as we protect them from the White Flame of Surtr and welcome them at our hearths, the Vættir will protect us in turn. From that moment on, our worlds became as one and have been so ever since. And though the Aesir long since passed from the world, the Vættir and the Contract remain, balancing the world of Mann.”

Tenshi pauses a moment, her eyes flicking to Shepho, and then she continues. “Many a great hero in our world has had the blood of Vættir flowing in their veins.”

One of the delegates, a green-skinned female addresses them then, a haughty sneer on her lips, “Prince Noatun, you are one of these _hanninmae,_ are you not?”3

He shoots her a frosty glare. She clearly intends it as an insult. Before he can stop himself, Shepho growls out, “Be careful who you call _half a man,_ woman!  You _speak_ to the son of a _god_.”

In that moment, several things happen at once. The faces of the other delegates, once indifferent, turn to shock and anger, the scents of which suffuse the atmosphere instantly. The woman turns a deep, ugly shade of green and raises her hand. Lady Serenity stiffens and pales, her embarrassment rapidly turning to a dawning horror as she sees the delegate’s hand rise. Shepho tenses, sliding one foot back in anticipation of the attack and Tenshi turns her head to her cousin, Loke. From the shadows, the queen’s guardian senshi move towards them. They will not be in time.

The strike never connects.

Loke stands between them, the green delegate’s wrist caught in his hand. Power, cold as the deepest, frozen tombs of Helheim, radiates off the Prince of Hel in waves that send his long, braided hair and black robes billowing.

“Barbarian, you _dare_ …?” the delegate demands in what is all but a snarl.

“I strongly suggest you _chill out_ ,” Loke says, interrupting her, and there is no mistaking the deadly undercurrent in his tone. Already, a thin sheen of hoarfrost is spreading from where his bare hand touches the woman’s green skin and soon enough the flesh below will begin freeze and die.4

“Enough,” Tenshi states, glaring at them and it is blatantly clear to all present that it is an order to stand down.

Loke releases the delegate without so much as a word and Shepho relaxes, though he does not take his eyes off the woman.

“Princess Brachi of Sigma Librae,” Lady Serenity pipes up, at last, her voice shaking with barely controlled distress as she addresses the green-skinned woman. “I believe it is time for you to leave.”

The delegate bristles with rage, cradling the arm that the Prince of Hel had grabbed. “Me? That _devil_ and his barbarian friend dared to insult me! And that _devil_ insults we senshi with his very presence. He has _no right_ to be here!”

Lady Serenity levels the woman with a stony glare. “The Prince of Noatun has _every_ right to be here. He is as much a guardian as you or I.”

The silence that falls is deafening.  Nothing moves.

And then the green-skinned delegate recoils in horror, her face awash with disgust as she first whispers, then cries out, “Abomination. He is an _abomination!_ Why was he not strangled at _birth_?”

Shepho can’t help the flinch that shoots down his spine, though he tries to hide it. He is no stranger to being insulted by Core Worlders, or to their hatred, but never before has he heard such utter venom directed at him in court. “Come and kill me if you dare,” he manages through bared teeth, showing the fangs his father's blood has given him, “You will find I am not alone. The Vættir have _many_ descendants and more than enough friends to deal with the likes of you.”

Brachi makes a gesture of blatant revulsion. “Tainted filth! You and your whole unholy system should be scourged from the sea of stars!”

“Leave, _now_ ,” Lady Serenity commands and, for a moment, her aura flares into a dizzying inferno of power.

The green-skinned princess blanches. She shoots a dirty look at the Mannheim representatives and mutters lowly, “This is war.” Then she is gone, with the entire Sigma Librae delegation and some of the Libran Gliese following suit.

* * *

  
“Well, that could have gone better,” Tenshi says and sinks into her chair with a heavy sigh. “How am I going to explain all this?”

They are on their way home now. The entire confrontation had left a decidedly sour taste in everyone’s mouths and absolutely nothing had gotten accomplished. Finally, Lady Serenity had been forced to end the summit early.

Loke merely grins in the pilot’s seat.  “I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

Shepho doesn’t say anything. He keeps wondering what would have happened if he had not been the one to come on this journey. Would the summit have proceeded without incident?

The ship suddenly lurches and shudders violently. Loke curses, yanking up hard on the controls and Tenshi almost falls out of her chair. Hanging on by the edge, she manages to climb back in and strap on the safety harness.

“What the hell?” Shepho shouts, half-sliding across the floor to his seat as the ship pitches violently from side to side.

Loke curses again and then shouts: “We’re under attack!  Hold on!”

Shepho spits out a curse of his own and straps in.

The ship darts back and forth, shuddering with the force of explosions that seem to be everywhere, and Shepho is unable to think anything but praying that Loke can get them out of here and the scent of fear, of _Tenshi’s fear._ Faster and faster they go, racing to outpace their attackers.

“Transform and prepare to bail out,” Loke says, gritting his teeth. “We’ll use the shuttle as a diversion.”

Shepho and Tenshi do not need to be told twice and both quickly transform into their senshi states. It doesn’t take long for Loke to join them. Focusing their power, the three of them teleport out and quietly watch as their shuttle explodes in the distance.

Then, out of nowhere, there is the sound of a great roar, of space ripping and folding, and a great warship appears directly before them, the pulsing maw of its beam cannon dwarfing the three Mannheim guardians.

Time seems to slow to a crawl. A deafening hum drowns out everything as light gathers along the cannon’s energy coils, drawing ever closer. Loke is looking back at them, his face stark with horror in the growing light, and then he is coming straight at them, a wave of ice exploding from deep within the Hel guardian. For a moment, Loke hangs suspended, an inky, bat-winged silhouette shielding them against a storm of charged particle fire, and then the light swallows everything.

* * *

  
“Fall back! Reinforce the second line! We must not let them past Vidi!” Knight Neo Glitnir shouts. He slams his hands forward, sending two great golden dragons leaping from his gauntlets. They tear through the Libran warships and battle cruisers in front of them like arcs of gleaming gold fire. Behind him, Sailor Neo Vidi raises her hands, signaling their own warships to fire, and supplements their attack with her own rain of enchanted missiles. Small explosions pepper the enemy’s lines, taking out smaller cruisers and fighters, but there are still too many and they have already lost two worlds.

“Fighters!” Knight Neo Glitnir shouts as he spins and throws his arm in a downward motion to materialize his trident for close quarters combat.

From the back line, Knight Sokvabek, the young heir of the ancient dragon armor, leads their own small fighters out to meet them. Already, his chain weapon, Fafnir’s Tail, glows white hot as if in anticipation. Then, suddenly, the redheaded knight stops.

“What the hell are you doing?” Knight Neo Glitnir demands.

Sokvabek turns back, a look of fear on his face as he shouts: “Fall back!  Fall back immediately!”

Knight Neo Glitnir pales, immediately waving everyone to retreat. It is well known that the chosen of Sokvabek could see into the future.

A spear of light, more than a hundred meters in diameter, rips through the space before them and completely envelops the Libran fleet. It tears through their ships as if they were tissue paper, consuming them in fire.

“Gungir,” Neo Glitnir breathes, relieved.5 The guardian of Valhalla, their leader, had returned!

But as the fire dims and the wielder of the divine spear appears before them, his relief turns to confusion and dread.

Knight Neo Noatun stands alone, his head bowed.  He is stained in blood and soot and his armor is badly damaged. In the younger guardian’s hands are the sacred spear of Valhalla and the scythe of Hel’s guardian, but their owners are nowhere to be seen. A sense of wrongness, deep and powerful, surrounds him.

“What happened?” Neo Glitnir demands.

“We were attacked. Valhalla and Hel have fallen.” The younger guardian’s response is clinical, devoid of feeling, and it is disquieting. But then, he had cared for the princess, had he not?

He raises his head then and Neo Glitnir freezes in place. The younger guardian’s eyes are empty, the unknowable otherness of the Vættir, and, with great sadness, he realizes that while Prince Shepho’s Vættir blood had allowed his body to survive what others could not, his heart, the most human part of him, had died.

“Gather the fleet and every surviving Vættir you can find,” Neo Noatun orders and the space around him shivers, shuddering and distorting as the angry spirits of their dead warriors appear, drawn by the scythe of Hel in his hand. “We’re going to Sigma Librae. And when we get there, we will not stop until there is nothing left of them but _ash_ and _bone_.”

“And lo, it was as the end of all things,” Knight Sokvabek whispers in feverish reverence, “Ragnarok has come.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was an entry for Round 3 of the 2013 Miss Senshi Pageant, aka "Alignment Switch". You can see the related artwork/full entry here on my [deviantART.](http://fav.me/d6hmfo5)
> 
> I have added a little description for clarity, mostly.
> 
> There's a lot of fusion in this verse and it's heavily layered with it's own internal mythos. The people of Mannheim have their own very unique take on the idea of Norse mythos and their senshi reflect that. Much of their beliefs shape and color how their senshi appear. The Mannheim system senshi are heavily based on the gundams of Gundam Wing, in terms of power sets and manifested appearance, though the people of their system do not know that the "suits of armor" they worship and the source of their senshi's power are actually machines and the gods of their legends were pilots and politicians of a long-ago era.
> 
> 1 Tenshi, aka "Her Royal Highness Katarine Sabrina of Fensalir, Princess of Valhalla"; 'Tenshi' is a pet name used among family and close friends, as it is traditional for Valhallan royals to have aliases. No one at court would address Tenshi as anything other than her given royal title. Shepho and Loke, however, are close to her and so are able to use it freely, except when called on to use formal address. Since this is from Shepho's point of view, he has no reason _not_ to employ it in reference to her.
> 
> 2 Vættir - basically a catchall name for nature spirits and supernatural things in general; it literally means "beings," and covers various families of supernatural entities, from elves to gods and giants and dwarves. The closest equivalent concepts would probably be "youkai" or "mononoke." The people of Mannheim have an incredibly fluid concept of these entities, as they believe these beings to be no less or more sentient or moral than themselves, and have confused outsiders at times by often including themselves in the definition as well! 
> 
> 3 Hanninmae - lit. "half-man" or "half a man"; Shepho Daman's father, Ulfr Khwitaz, is a Vættir and known as a lesser god of war and hunting or a deified nature spirit within their home system, though his exact nature is never made clear (locally on Noatun, he is referred to as the god of White Wolf Temple and is typically depicted as a white wolf). Outsiders to the Mannheim system have alternately referred to him as a Deva, Yaksha, sídhe, elf, or youkai. To some, thus, Shepho _could_ be considered a hanyou. While half-humans like himself are celebrated in Mannheim and often share their blood with heroes, they are almost always treated with suspicion and scorn in many Core Systems on account of their supernatural lineage. Shepho is particularly unsettling to them as his non-human lineage is very visibly apparent, especially as regards to his having the ears of a wolf, claws, fangs, and unusually colored eyes (golden-yellow) and hair (white).
> 
> 4 The senshi of planet Hel have domain over the realm of death. Ice is associated with the underworld and the realm of the dead, as the most ancient tombs on Hel are frozen, hence Loke having the ability to freeze flesh until it dies.
> 
> 5 Gungir - Odin's spear. In this case, a sacred and holy weapon of the Mannheim system. It is said to manifest as a "spear of light" as well, something akin to a particle beam weapon. It is the most powerful weapon available to the senshi of planet Valhalla, being based on the beam cannon of Wing Zero.


End file.
